Mini Pizzas

Blog for Family Dinner continues ... Tonight was Mini Pizzas!!

So today was kindof rough for both of us.  I've been really tired and run down lately, and she is getting over Fifth Disease.  I did the minimum amount possible for my day, and picked her up from daycare while she was still asleep on her cot.  We watched alot of Caillou and SuperWhy when we got home, curled up on the couch under a blanket.

On the phone with my mom, she talked about what she was making for dinner.  Hey, we can expand family dinner to include Nan and Grandpa, right?  That still counts, doesn't it?  So I asked my kid if she wanted to go to Nan's and have dinner.

No. 

She didn't.  She seems to like dinner at home in our dining room almost as much as I do!  I tweeted about it, and got a reply from Blog 4 Family Dinner - apparently it is common for the kids to get on board with Family Dinner early on.  Yep, that's my girl.

Anyway, so here's what I made:  Mini English Muffin Pizzas

On a baking sheet, I put a sheet of parchment paper.  It was supposed to help clean-up, which it did for the most part.  Except the cheese that escaped off the side.

On the parchment paper, I put english muffins cut side up.  I managed to fit exactly one package of muffins on the baking sheet.  I am a rock star.

Then I turned to chopping toppings.  (Ha!)  I had a package of gourmet sliced mushrooms from Whole Foods that I chopped using my chopper.  (Pampered Chef, not Slap Chop.  I hate that guy.)  Also, a bunch of garlic.  Then some green onions. 

On the english muffins, I put some spaghetti sauce, the stuff that was left over from Monday night.  Then I put the chopped vegetables, then I put some cheese.  Shredded cheese.  Bake 350, 10 minutes or so. 

Eat.

(Sorry for the sideways photos.)

If I had it to do over again, I would bake them without the cheese for about 10 minutes, then add cheese and bake until it melts.  The garlic and onions needed a few more minutes in the heat.  Also, I thought about rubbing the muffins with a garlic clove before topping, but I didn't want to take that time.  If you only want a little garlic flavor, that might be a better route rather than adding it chopped.  If you like the garlic, tho, the chopped method tasted yummy.  But beware - about an hour after eating, my dad freaked out because my kid smelled like garlic.  (He watches too much CSI - he mentioned selenium poisoning.  Freak.)

Nan declared them delicious.  Everything that we eat that my kid likes, she wants to take some to Nan.  Nan wasn't complaining, tho!

Family Dinner Month Day 1: Conchiglie with Peas

Blog For Family Dinner month (use #B4FD as the Twitter hashtag) starts today.  I've started following lots of folks who talk about family dinner, feeding families well, kid-friendly meals, etc.  So I started to see the #B4FD info in my timeline.

We are doing really well with Project Veg.  Between the cookbook my friend Jenny loaned me and the one she gave me as a Christmas gift, we had been doing pretty well.  But with starting back to my semester and trying to single handedly run a household into the ground, it's usually just easier to head down the street to my mom's for dinner.

I've been feeling a little down and overwhelmed lately.  I think it's mostly hormonal, and I have a doctor appointment scheduled. don't worry.  But I've been trying to think of little things I can do that will help me to feel better, and to better deal with the stress of ... everything I have going on.

So when I started thinking about Family Dinner Month, I realized that I really like the idea.  Honestly, I am incredibly excited about the idea of my kid and I sitting down together to dinner every night for a month at our dining room table, to a meal that I cooked for us.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the nights my mom cooks dinner for us.  Also, my parents will probably join us for a number of our meals this month, and I'm sure we will end up at their house for a few meals also.  It just feels like this is one thing that I can do that I enjoy (I love cooking) that will help me bond with my kid, take good care of her, relax at the end of a long day, and be something that I can feel like I have some control over.

I didn't realize that last part until I was discussing it with my mom.  In the middle of explaining to her that I want to try to do meal planning and eat more dinners on our own or at least at our dining room table, I started talking about how overwhelmed and out-of-control I feel sometimes, and this is one thing that I feel like I can have (or would like to have) more control over.

So, this morning my mom took the Wee One to church to see Jesus (every time you say "church" she says "I go see Jesus") and I made a list of menus, went to Whole Foods, cleaned out the fridge, put groceries away, washed all the dishes ....  then took a nap with my kid.  (Hey, I said I was overwhelmed, leave me alone).

So here was our dinner tonight, the first night of Family Dinner Month, inspired by the kind folks at Blog For Family Dinner.

The inspiration for this meal came primarily from a recipe in The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen (the cookbook that I previously copyright violated talked about here) called Conchiglie with Green and Black-Eyed Peas, Pearl Onions, and Basil.  Only it ended up being more like Conchiglie with Green Peas, Garlic, and Oregano.  The other influence for the recipe was this recipe.

So here is how it was made.  Easy peasy (sorry, I had to).

In a big pot, boil salted water for the pasta.  When a rolling boil, add pasta.  Remember to look at the time for a ballpark on when your big pot of pasta will be done.

In another pan:
Put some olive oil in the pan.
Add some chopped garlic and stir.

Oh, yea, remember to turn on the burner!  (I told you this was how I made it!)
After it gets up to temp and you notice it has started sizzling, add 1/3 cup of butter and some frozen peas.  Stir periodically until the butter is melted and the peas look thawed.

Meanwhile, head out to the garden to clip some oregano.  Garden?  Why yes, I do have an herb garden (okay, ignore the great big weed in the middle.  Most of it is herbs, anyway.)

Chop a few leaves of the oregano and add to the peas/butter/garlic stuff.
Keep warm on lo heat until the pasta is done.

As I learned on Food Network, put the pasta in the sauce and let it finish cooking and soak up all the flavors in the sauce.

It was very yummy.  The toddler enjoyed it immensely.  Even more than the dish, I enjoyed a quiet conversation with my kid.  First she told me I was a lion and she was spaghetti.  Then she was a lion (I don't know what I had become, I was too busy enjoying her lion roar).  I found out that her favorite food is ravioli, but I think that's just her favorite food to say.  She does love her some peas, and crammed them into her mouth by the fistful. 

After finishing dinner, she wanted to visit her Nan and Grandpa so that Nan could try the dish.  We wrapped up the leftovers on a Dora plate and took it to Nan to try.  Nan scarfed the whole plate down and declared it delicious, much as we had done.

So Day 1 of Family Dinner Month was a smashing success: simple, healthy, toddler-friendly meal.  Bonding conversation with my kid.  Couldn't have a better evening at home.

Also: Aveeno Calming Baby Bath with the lavendar scent really helps get the smell of chopped garlic off your hands.  That's my hint for the day.

Best Easy Summer Dinner Ever

Okay, so I had to complement the previous post with this recipe from tonight's dinner, since this is much more representative of what we've been eating for dinner.

The genesis for this recipe:

1.  I had "cooking onions" that I bought at the farmer's market last weekend.

2.  Jellybean Mama made a great looking hobo supper for the big campout last weekend.

3.  I didn't want to heat up the house by cooking inside so I was looking for something to make on the grill.  Other than meat (for that, see the previous recipe).

So while at the grocery last night, I picked up little red potatoes, baby carrots, and chocolate milk.  The latter item is not essential for this recipe, but is essential for the well-being of my household :)

Tonight I made a little foil packet of the chopped farmer's market onions, red potatoes, and baby carrots.  I added a bit of olive oil and butter, then trimmed some herbs from the garden (marjoram and oregano, but I think marjoram and thyme would have been better.  No thyme in my garden.  Le sigh.)  I didn't feel like getting the leaves off the stems and chopping them, so they went in whole (just push them to the side when you open up the packet).  Salt and pepper.  Grill for 30 minutes.

I thought I might want something to make it a bit more hearty.  While grilling, I found some awesome cheese in the fridge that I got at Whole Foods last week (Havarti with Dill, how freaking awesome is that?).  So in the last few minutes of cooking, I put a thin slice of that on top.

It doesn't heat the house up, but DOES make your house smell like you've cooked  a gourmet meal when you open that packet up and dish up some steaming veggies.

Mmmmm...

The big space is the huge spoonful that became my dinner.

Cookbooks and Tomato Coulis (i.e. Project Veg update)

Project Veg has still been going strong.  It's pretty much all I can do to get the food fixed and on the table, so I've been very lax about photo-ing, and post-ing, etc.  But I know that alot of other mamas had a positive reaction when I first started writing about Project Vegetarian, so I wanted to make sure and post an update.

I haven't been purchasing unprepared meat.  That's a line I drew early on.  If I'm in a particular mood, I will eat meat if it is prepared by someone else.  My kid loves chicken nuggets, so I have purchased frozen chicken nuggets that just need to be microwaved (I also by meatless ones).  But there has been very little raw meat in my house in recent months.  And I feel very good about that.

My friend Jenny, the guest poster who helped kick off Project Veg, who cooks vegan for her preschooler and husband, and has a new baby at home (and happens to be a personal hero) has turned me on to the key for Project Veg:

Good cookbooks.

The first good cookbooks is hers, despite the fact that it's been in MY kitchen for more than 6 months (she has a new baby, what does she notice?).  It is Better Then Peanut Butter & Jelly , and is an awesome cookbook for simple Vegetarian, and some Vegan, dinners for kids.  It has a great potato and leek casserole recipe, and several good recipes that use black beans.

The second good cookbook is mine, only because she gifted it to me for Christmas.  Probably because she didn't want me to keep her copy for months and months.  It is the The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen.  And it. Is.  Awesome.  Words cannot describe how incredibly awesome this cookbook is.  Simple little dinners.  Fancy recipes for when you want to show off.  It has everything, and its all delicious.  Two of the recipes that I have tried so far I have actually made multiple times and incorporated into the kind of dishes that I can make off the top of my head.  I have quite a number of recipes in this book marked for trying, and that has inspired me to pursue local sources for food to try lots more of the recipes in this book.

So tonight I made, for the second time, a recipe that I now refer to as Tomato Coulis.  It's a very simple, minimal ingredients recipe.  It works for Sunday dinner (I made it last Sunday for my mom and dad) and for weeknight dinners (I made it tonight).  It's yummy with both the spices called for in the recipe, and the spices you can use to substitute when you realize you don't have that spice in your cabinet like you thought you did.

Chop some garlic.  Saute in some olive oil while you chop some tomatoes.  Lots of tomatoes.  Dump tomatoes, liquid, seeds, etc, into pan over garlic.  Add other spice (furst time I used basil plus a touch of marjoram, the recipe calls for thyme which I used tonight).  Simmer 20 minutes to reduce while you boil pasta and set the table.  Serve.

The real recipe (included below) calls for asparagus.  That could help make it super fancy.  It works well with some mushrooms, too.

It's similar enough to a regular spaghetti sauce that small ones might go for it.  The benefit versus using a bottled sauce is the lack of preservatives and knowing that you're sourcing local and making homemade.  You can control ingredients, you can control spices and flavors.  And you know you've simmered a little pot of good for your family.  I always thought that a homemade spaghetti sauce made with tomatoes would take forever to cook down.  This isn't really a sauce, per se.  Just cooked tomatoes and spices over pasta.  What could be simpler than that?

Well, if you must know ... NOT cooking a summer tomato dish would be simpler.  So that brings me to my favorite recipe from this book ... Bruschetta.

Chop two tomatoes, six black (or Kalamata) olives, some artichoke hearts.  Chop basil and italian parsley (both of which I'm now growing in my herb garden).  Spring with red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper.  Rub a garlic clove on your bread, spread with the bruschetta.  Eat.

Heaven.  Oh, wait, open a bottle of white wine with it.  Now THAT's heaven.


--

Total copyright violations appear below this line.  Here are the two recipes from the book, in their entirety, as published.  Please consider purchasing a copy of the book so I don't get in too much trouble.  I don't think you'll regret it.  Love, me.

Linguine with Asparagus and Tomato Coulis

2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopper
3 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled and chopped, all the juices included
1.5 T fresh thyme leaves or 1.5 t dried
0.5 t sugar, or to taste
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
12 ounces pencil-thin asparagus, tough ends trimmed and discarded, tips trimmed from stalks, stalks cut diagonally into 2-inch lengths
16 ounces dry linguine (do not use fresh)
0.5 cup Nicoise or other good-quality black olives, pitted and chopped

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until just golden, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and their juices, thyme, sugar, salt, pepper, bring to a brisk simmer over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat and simmer gently uncovered, stirring occasionally until the mixture is reduced by one-third and sauce has thickened, 20 to 30 minutes.  Correct the seasonings, adding additional sugar to taste if the sauce tastes too acidic.

Meanwhile, bring a large stockpot filled with salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook until almost al dente.  Add the asparagus and cook until the asparagus is tender and the pasta is al dente, 2 to 3 minutes.  Drain well and transfer to a large warm bowl.  Add the tomato coulis and the olives, if using, and toss well to combine.  Serve at once.

Bruschetta and Tomatoes, Black Olives, and Marinated Artichokes

1 medium ripe tomato, seeded and finely chopped
6 kalamata or other large good quality black olives
0.5 cup drained marinated artichoke hearts, finely chopped
1 T finely chopped fresh basil
1 T finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 T extra virgin olive oil
0.5 t red wine vinegar
salt, preferably course, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
about 6 0.5 inch thick pieces of italian bread, lightly toasted
1 large clove garlic, halve

Place the tomato, olives, artichokes, basil, parsley, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a medium mixing bowl, toss well to combine.  Set aside for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Rub the toasted side of the bread with the flat sides of the garlic halves.  Top each side evenly with the tomato mixture, using about 2 T per piece.  Serve at room temp.

Vegetable Couscous

A Project Vegetarian recipe!

A while back, like several years ago, my mom bought me a cookbook.  A Betty Crocker cookbook, called Healthy New Choices.  So when I started Project Veg and was trying to figure out what the heck we would eat, I pulled it out to see what it had to say.  Turns out there were several useful and yummy recipes.

This one is called Vegetable Couscous

1 can garbanzo beans, 2 large tomatoes chopped, 4 medium green onions chopped, 1 (ok, 3) clove(s) garlic, chopped; 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp olive oil.  Heat to boiling.  Serve over couscous.  How much easier can it get?

 

I added mushrooms and cilantro, just because I could!



 

A shot of the finished product, served over couscous.  She ate it!  The recipe calls for topping it with some grated Parmesan cheese.

I forgot that I don't really like garbanzo beans, but the rest of it was really yummy!

 I'll show you some other yummy recipes from the book, as soon as I clear some memory off my laptop so I can download photos.  Oooops!

Project Vegetarian Recipes

My first post about eating vegetarian is here.  Based on comments from that post I invited a guest poster, my dear friend Jenny to comment on eating vegetarian with a preschooler.  Her first post has some general advice, followed here with recipes.  Enjoy!

As promised, I am back with some easy, kid-friendly vegetarian recipes.

First, my obligatory tofu PSA.

Tofu: It isn’t half as gross as you think it is

You don’t have to eat tofu to be a vegetarian, but by golly, it is jam packed with so much good stuff that I just can’t pass it up. Calcium, iron, and protein are all abundant in the mysterious white, jiggly substance. Tofu has a reputation as the dull, awkward and nerdy kid in the class. As many of us well know, those nerdy kids have a lot of personality given the right environment and opportunities, and tofu is no exception.

Here is what I do for every block of tofu I buy:

1) Get the stuff from the refrigerated health food section. The vacuum packed shelf stable tofu is great for smoothies and pies but has no place front and center on the dinner plate.

2) Naked tofu is bland, boring and pathetic. Fortunately, it takes on the flavor of whatever you marinate/cook it in. What does this mean? Versatility!!!!

3) Tofu is packed in water. If you use it straight out of the package it will be slippery and won’t take on much marinade. (See above comment regarding bland, boring and pathetic.) Before you use it, follow these steps:

a. Open the package and remove the block of tofu from the water

b. Wrap up the block in a clean dishtowel

c. Get two small plates. Put one upside down on a stable surface. Put the wrapped tofu on top of that. Top with the second plate, right side up. On top of that plate put something heavyish that balances well enough to not come crashing down. I usually use a couple of medium sized cookbooks. Canned goods work, but have a higher center of gravity than cookbooks, so evaluate your bravery and tolerance for loud noises and messes before you chance it.

d. Be patient. Let it press for 15 minutes or so. Have a glass of wine. Or beer. Or kool-aid with rum if you’re in a real pinch.

e. For a meatier texture, when you bring it home from the grocery, pop the whole package into the freezer for a day or two and then thaw it for another couple days in the fridge. I never remember to do this but I like the firmer texture on the rare occasion that I do remember.

The Recipes:

Tofu “fish” sticks
(serves 4)

1 block firm or extra firm tofu, pressed
½ cup wheat germ
1 tbsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
Milk (I use soy or almond milk)

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the block of tofu into fish stick shaped pieces. Set out a small, shallow bowl with milk. In a cereal bowl, mix up everything else. Dip each stick in milk and then roll in the coating. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes until they’re nice and firm. Dip them in whatever you would use for chicken nuggets. I like BBQ sauce and honey.

I typically serve these with baked sweet potato fries from the freezer section.


Tofu sloppy joes
(serves 4)

1 block firm or extra firm tofu, pressed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp onion, diced frozen
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
½ tsp cumin
¼ c BBQ sauce
½ tsp salt
Hamburger buns

In olive oil, brown onion and garlic. Add tomato sauce, cumin, BBQ sauce and salt. Crumble in tofu and let it sit and think about what it has done – maybe 15 minutes. It has to have time to soak up the flavors. Serve on buns with pickles and some cheese if you dig. This is even better reheated the next day.


Baked Tofu
(serves 4)

This is a versatile recipe. You can really use any marinade you want – I like a homemade teriyaki the best but anything works. You can also slice it into tofu “steaks”, marinate, and cook on the grill the same amount of time you would cook a steak.

Modified from fatfreevegan.com:

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp. minced ginger root
1 block firm or extra firm tofu, pressed

Cut up tofu into cubes, 1 inch or so. Lay them in a big container or gallon Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Pop it in the fridge and marinate while you’re at work or overnight. If you get a chance to flip them over midway through, cool. If not, it isn’t the end of the world.

Preheat the oven to 375. Arrange the tofu in a 9 X 13 baking dish. If you didn’t get a chance to flip them while marinating, make sure the unmarinated side is down. Pour all the rest of the marinade over the cubes. Bake for 45 minutes or until browned and chewy looking. Serve with brown rice and stir fry veggies and pineapple if you’re feeling froggy.


The Musical Fruit

Now let’s step away from the noble soybean for a spell and talk about the other magical beans out there. I love beans. My kid loves beans. My husband likes them well enough and is kind enough to never complain about their starring role in many of our meals. The thing I like about beans is that they are easy. Dried beans can be cooked in large batches and frozen for later. Canned beans are cheap and ready to eat straight out of the can. Dried or canned, there is such a variety available that you can switch them up every night and not feel like you’re eating the same thing over and over again.


Chickpeas and Couscous, my preschooler’s #1 favorite dish:
(serves 4)

1-1/4 c water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander
¼ tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp salt
Pinch of black pepper
¼ cup frozen spinach
1 cup couscous
1 can chickpeas
¼ cup raisins

Bring water, spices, and spinach to a boil. Add couscous. Remove from heat, cover, let sit for 5 minutes. Rinse and drain chickpeas. Add chickpeas and raisins to pan, cover again. Let sit for 2 more minutes, fluff and combine with a fork, serve.


Refried Beans
(serves 4)

Onion (I use frozen, pre-diced)
1 can of pinto or black beans
Scant ¼ cup veggie broth
Chili powder
Garlic salt

Brown about 2 tbsp onion in 1tbsp of olive oil. Add a can of rinsed and drained beans and veggie broth. Sprinkle generously with chili powder and less generously with garlic salt. Mash with a potato masher until desired consistency. We usually serve these over brown rice (cooked in broth and chili powder and salt) with diced tomatoes, taco sauce and shredded cheddar.


Black bean and sweet potato quesadillas
(serves 4)

1 medium sweet potato
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
Salsa, if you dig (my kid doesn’t)
Cheddar
Chili powder
Whole grain tortillas

Peel and chunk sweet potato. Boil in water 10 minutes or so, until fork tender. Drain and mash with a potato masher. While you have the masher handy, mash up a can of black beans, because they won’t roll off the tortilla if they’re squished. On half of a tortilla, spread ¼ of the beans, topped by ¼ of the sweet potato. Sprinkle on some chili powder, salsa. If you’re into that sort of thing add a little shredded cheddar. Fold in half and grill (heavy side up so that it doesn’t pop open) in a dry, heated skillet until it is browned and the cheese is melty. You should only have to flip it once.


Garlicky pasta w/ white beans and peas
(serves 4)

2 cloves garlic, minced
½ of a box of random pasta
1 can of great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup frozen peas
Salt
Grated parmesan or asiago cheese

Cook pasta per box directions, adding frozen peas to the last 5 or so minutes of cooking. Brown garlic in olive oil until it smells too good to be true. Add beans and salt and heat through. Mix it all together and sprinkle with grated cheese.


Jenny’s Favorite Baked Sweet Potato
(serves 4)

4 sweet potatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
Apple butter

Wash taters. Either bake at 400 until tender (1 hr – 1 hr, 15 minutes) or microwave for 10 minutes or until tender. I have a potato button on my microwave, so I use that. Top each with ¼ c black beans and 2 tbsp of apple butter.

Mung Bean Soup

This is a recipe that I made up as I went along, modeled after one I found here, which came from a Whole Foods cookbook anyway.

I love the way mung beans look in the bulk bins.  I had bought some the last time I was at Whole Foods (you know, when you buy way too much stuff you don't have any clue how to cook and fantasize the whole time about being the crunchiest mom on the block.  Then you get home and let it all spoil or languish while you eat brownies and take-out?)

So when I started Project Vegetarian, I knew I wanted to use these mung beans.  I looked up a whole bunch of recipes.  In my head, though, I had this picture of just chopping up a bunch of veggies, cooking the beans, and mixing it all together.  And that's what I did.

No amounts here, folks.  You can see in the photos how much is there.  There was a little more beans than veggies, which worked out fine since I wanted it to be like "Mung Beans with Vegetables", but next time I'd use a little more veggies.

I had about a half a cup of mung beans.  I put them in a bowl of water to rinse them.  None floated to the top as "duds" so I didn't remove any.  I thought they all looked great. 

I drained that water, then put them in a large pot with 4 times their volume in water.  I got that ratio from a little booklet on bulk foods that I picked up from Wild Oats a long time ago.  Obviously, since they haven't been around for a while.  Then that didn't look like enough water, and the other recipe said five cups, so I added another cup.  It was perfect. 

I brought them to a boil and then turned the burner down to simmer.  I started the timer for 30 minutes, since I had a toddler clinging to my leg crying.  At the end, the beans were just a bit shy of done, so I let the remaining soup simmer for 10 more minutes while we ate and they were perfect.  If you have the time, and no clingy toddler, set your timer for 40 minutes.

After they had been cooking about 15 minutes, I added some diced baby carrots.  I like my carrots to be really cooked, so that's why I wanted to add them to the cooking beans, rather than just saute with the other veggies.  You choose.  Also I added some coriander to the cooking beans.  I've never used coriander before, so just a few sprinkles.  I could have used a touch more, but it was still good.

Meanwhile, chop veggies.  First green onions.

Then a vidalia onion and some some garlic.  I had a sous chef.  It's wonderful to have a personal assistant in the kitchen, isn't it?

Saute in a pan with a little olive oil.

A large tomato, chopped.  5 good-sized mushrooms, chopped.  After the onions were translucent, add these to the pan since they don't need much time to cook at all.

When the timer went off on the 30 minutes for the beans, I added the sauteed veggies to the bean pot.  Also added some chopped cilantro, mixed it all together.

I let it simmer for 5 more minutes while I set the table.  At this point the toddler-o-meter was reaching Meltdown stage, so I was grabbing bowls and cups and singing "dinner's almost ready, honey".  15 minutes would have been a better simmer, but I didn't have that.

It was very yummy.  I didn't take photos of the bowls, since we just dug in.  I did top with just a smidge of shredded monterey jack cheese.  The Wee One loves cheese, so in case she was horrified at the mung beans she might still eat if there was cheese on top.  And I figured my system would go into utter shock at the healthiness of the meal, so I buffered it with cheese.

The sous chef enjoyed her dish immensely.

I had enough to freeze some and also save a bowl to take for my lunch the next day.

Lactation Cookies

Serifm had her baby!  A beautiful boy, a perfect delivery (what's that?), they're doing great.  In honor of the news, I decided I'd make her some Lactation Cookies last night to take to her.  Only I forgot to add the oats.  So they just reeeeeeeeeeallly taste like flaxseed.  Which isn't necessarily a bad thing

(Original recipe here.)

Lactation Cookies

Cream together:
2/3 cup butter
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup brown sugar

Add:
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups ground flax seeds

Stir in:
3 cups flour - whole grain is best to use
4 tablespoons brewers yeast
3 cups rolled oats (2 cups mixes in better)

Add 1 cup chocolate chips, or toffee pieces, or whatever.

If mixture is too dry, add some olive oil.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

They work well - I got 4 more ounces the first time I pumped after eating some.  A good friend swears by them also.

It's the flaxseed and the brewer's yeast that help with milk production.  The old wives tale that drinking a beer will help with your milk?  It totally works because of the same principle.  The DHA supplement that is recommended during pregnancy and especially breastfeeding?  Flaxseed is a natural source of omega-3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA.

My most recent piece of advice:  Don't eat these if you're trying to stop your milk production because you're weaning your toddler.  I ate one last night ... leaking all over the place today.  Bad idea.

After I discovered that they work so well, I had decided that every baby shower I went to after that, I'd bake a batch and take the recipe.  What a great gift!  Only they're pretty much a pain in the butt to make because of all the mixing.  I thought it was too easy last night, then when they were in the oven I realized I forgot to add the oats.

Also, not every expectant mother is planning to breastfeed, so when you present them with cookies designed to help them increase their milk supply, you might get teased, if you're in the wrong crowd.

But they seem to work.  And what better way to celebrate the arrival of a new baby than to bake the momma some cookies?